Community Survey - 2015

Community Transportation Survey 2015

Jeremy Endsley, Laura Jackson Community Transportation Committee 11/15/2015

Introduction

Transportation to work is essential for finding and maintaining employment. For those who depend exclusively on public transit services to get to work, limited services can narrow available employment options, creating a major roadblock to securing a viable livelihood. Personal reports suggest there are limited public transportation options in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty for workers, including those accessing public services such as emergency shelters, food pantries, and neighborhood centers. The Community Transportation Committee conducted a survey at several of these locations in order to investigate whether transportation problems are a widespread phenomenon. Improving transportation options for workers has many benefits both for individuals and for the economic prosperity of the region. This report explores the results of research on barriers to employment related to public transit in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty for individuals accessing public services. The purpose of our research was to provide a clearer picture of whether there are gaps in transportation services for workers and, if gaps exist, to determine which transportation services are most needed. This report also provides examples of transportation programs in other communities and suggests how they might be used as models for future transportation initiatives in Johnson County.

Linkage between Transportation and Employment Providing inclusive transportation options benefits workers by increasing job opportunities, promoting self-sufficiency, and extending pathways for career advancement. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless Employment Report, 30% of survey respondents reported that transportation was a barrier to employment (Acuña and Erlenbusch, 2009).

Providing more transportation options also benefits the local economy by providing an adequate workforce and enhancing investment. According to the American Public Transportation Association, every $1 invested in public transportation generates approximately $4 in economic returns, every $10 million in capital investment in public transportation yields $30 million in increased business sales, and every $1 billion invested in public transportation supports and creates more than 50,000 jobs.

Home values performed 42 percent better on average if they were located near public transportation with high-frequency service (American Public Transportation Association, 2016).

Another benefit of improved public transportation is the "agglomeration economy effect" to which it can lead. The agglomeration economy effect refers to increased population density and access, which can increase businesses' potential employees and customers, as well as facilitate collaboration and innovation through increased sharing of information (Weisbrod & Reno, 2009).

Current Public Transportation Options

Current public transportation services in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty consist of fixed bus routes and on-demand services, including a free fixed route bus service for students of the University of Iowa. Iowa City and Coralville both have daytime and night time bus service; however Coralville buses run an hour earlier and later than Iowa City buses. Bus service to North Liberty is provided by Coralville transit and currently runs twice daily. To enhance access to public transportation services, the City of Iowa City provides 1,220 free bus passes monthly to low income individuals through social service agencies. Iowa City Transit also has discounts for people who receive Medicaid and people over 60 years of age ($0.50 per ticket versus $1.00), and people who have disabilities receive free services during off peak hours. Coralville Transit provides service to Coralville and North Liberty with discounted fares for people who are 65 or over, or have a disability, at $0.50 per ticket, versus $1.00. Neither city currently provides free bus tickets to service agencies.

Assessing Gaps in Transportation Services: Community Transportation Survey

Purpose

The purpose of the Community Transportation survey was to assess whether transportation was a barrier to employment for workers in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty. And, if transportation was a barrier to employment, to determine what gaps in transportation services were the most common.

Methodology

Community Transportation Surveys were collected during the first two weeks of November in 2015. A total of 157 surveys were collected from six locations including the North Liberty Community Pantry, Coralville Ecumenical Pantry, The Crisis Center of Johnson County, Shelter House, the Center for Worker Justice, and at the Homeless Stand Down event held at the Robert A Lee Recreation Center. Surveys were conducted in the lobby or waiting area of each location. As individuals were seated in the waiting area, each was offered a survey. Surveys were distributed in English and Spanish.

Results

Residence

The largest group of respondents consisted of residents of Iowa City, followed by Coralville. A smaller number of surveys were collected in North Liberty than Iowa City or Coralville because fewer individuals visited the North Liberty Pantry compared to the other survey locations.

Barriers to employment

Respondents were asked whether, in the past year, they had lost a job, turned down a job, or given up looking for a job they wanted due to poor transportation options. Forty percent of respondents reported turning down a job because of poor transportation. Thirty-five percent reported that they had lost a job and thirty percent reported that they gave up looking for a job they wanted (n=140). Among respondents who had lost, turned down, or gave up looking for employment due to transportation, 11pm was the most common time that their shift started, followed by 7am (n=77).

Gaps in Transportation Services

The main challenges accessing public transit to get to work or a job interview reported by respondents were that the bus did not run when they needed it and did not run as frequently as needed (n=142). The most difficult days to get to work or a job interview using public transit in order of difficulty were Sunday, Saturday, and Friday, as reported by respondents. The most difficult times to get to work were late night (9pm to Midnight), early morning (Midnight to 7am), and evening (6pm to 9pm), which fall outside regular hours of operation for Iowa City Transit and Coralville Transit.

Demographics

Sixty percent of the survey respondents reported their race as White, thirty percent Black, four percent Latino, two percent American Indian, one percent Asian, and two percent multi-racial. Seventeen percent of respondents reported they were of Hispanic origin. Twenty percent of respondents had a disability that made it difficult to use a car, bus, or required a wheelchair lift. Fifty-six percent of respondents earned less than ten thousand dollars per year.

Discussion

Gaps in Transportation Services

Early morning and late night services were the most requested transit features according to our survey. Specifically, 7:00am and 11pm were the most frequently requested times. Frequency of service was also an issue. Though the sample size of respondents living in North Liberty was small, many respondents who were not residents of North Liberty requested better bus service to the city. Consistent with the 2009 findings of the National Coalition for the Homeless, 30% of respondents we surveyed reported that they had lost, quit, or gave up looking for a job due to lack of transportation (Acuña and Erlenbusch, 2009).

Financial Barriers to Transportation and Employment

One challenge faced by workers accessing public services is that bus passes are often out of reach for financial reasons. Agencies such as Shelter House and the Crisis Center give out bus passes, but this service is a burdensome expenditure for small non profits and the demand for passes far exceeds the supply. Another financial difficulty is the paycheck gap. Even when employment is found, without an immediate source of funding available, workers still may not be able to afford to ride the bus until they receive their first paycheck. This narrows employment options to those that are within walking distance, limiting both type of jobs people can apply for and the pay rate they can achieve.

Recommendations

Extend Current Iowa City Bus Services

Currently, Iowa City morning bus service begins at 6:30 am and night service ends at 11:00 pm, while Coralville morning service begins at 6:00 am and night service ends at 11:45 pm. In order to increase the ease of commuting for workers between the three cities, Iowa City could extend bus hours on some routes one hour earlier and one hour later, allowing time for passengers to get to and from work on time. This change would positively impact many industries such as restaurants, janitorial, manufacturing, grocery stores, retail, security, and many others.

Consider New Forms of Transit

New programs such as vanpools, subsidized taxis, and low cost transportation programs could provide many new options for workers to reach employers. These programs should start small and scale to demand. Once demand can be assessed, more decisions can be made. City, County, State, and foundation funding sources could support more transportation options. Ideally, State special project transportation funding would be used to initiate programs and City and County funding would provide subsidies. User fees could be charged, except on low-barrier services.

Vanpool Services

A vanpool service would be beneficial if there are groups of people going to the same or closely located places to work. Vanpools can be operated by one or more organizations in order to serve workers who have limited options to obtain transportation to work, such as people who start or end work shifts outside of the operating hours of public transit, people who work at locations not located near a bus route, or people experiencing homelessness. Typically, vanpools employ a driver who works at a particular employer to drive a van of other employees to work. The driver is allowed to take the vehicle home and is allotted a certain amount of extra miles. A vanpool program would be beneficial to the city to complement an expansion of bus service hours, so that the two approaches could target community needs in a cost effective way.

Subsidized taxis

A subsidized taxi service would be particularly helpful in cutting down transit time for people working and balancing other responsibilities at home, such as raising children. Transportation can take a long time if individuals do not live close to where they work or if they have to take one or more transfers to get to work, which can present challenges to working people. It would also be very helpful for people who work second or third shift, when buses are not running. The service would also benefit taxi companies, because they would get more business from it; the compensation would simply come from the subsidy instead of the client.

Low-barrier Transportation to Work Programs

A low-barrier transportation to work program can take various forms. It could be a free vanpool for those who qualify, a program which disperses free bus passes to those who qualify, free taxi vouchers for those who qualify, or any other program which provides free transportation to individuals who do not otherwise have access (due to homelessness, loss of employment, etc.). The idea of low-barrier transportation to work programs is to provide initial transportation so individuals can apply for, obtain, and maintain employment. Once these individuals are self-sufficient, they would no longer qualify for the program and their spot would be taken by another qualified individual.

Conclusion

Our research investigated transportation gaps in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty IA in 2015. A survey was conducted at several locations to examine the most prevalent transportation needs in the community. The results of the study indicated that 7:00am and 11:00pm were the most frequently requested bus service times, and consistent with the 2009 findings of the National Coalition for the Homeless, 30% of respondents we surveyed reported that they had lost, quit, or gave up looking for a job due to lack of transportation (Acuña and Erlenbusch, 2009).

Based on these findings, we recommended that current bus services be extended at least one hour earlier or one hour later and that supplementary transportation programs such as vanpools, subsidized taxis, and low-cost transportation programs be piloted on a small-scale basis. These two recommendations are intended to help people obtain access to transportation to work, especially in the case of first or third shifts or to locations which do not fall near a bus route.

The last section of the report summarizes examples of successful supplementary transportation programs. Examples for subsidized taxi programs included Olathe, Kansas and Prairieland Transit’s partnership with Worthington Taxi; low-barrier transportation programs included Opportunity Center for the Homeless and Wheels to Work; and community vanpools included Olympia, Washington Intercity Transit and JobJet in Carroll, Iowa. These programs were chosen as models of how similar programs could be implemented in Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty.

Transportation is a seldom considered, but highly important component of a productive adult life. Getting to a job requires a reliable, affordable mode of transportation, yet many do not have access to such a mode. Improving public transportation options ensures not only that more people will be able to find and maintain employment, but also that businesses will have a greater pool of employees and customers. Therefore, a healthy public transportation system is vital to the economy of any given place.